I remember early this year the day we signed Matt Flynn, he was the buzz of the town. Everyone was hyped, jerseys were printed, local radio wouldn't stop talking about it, yadayadaada. Fast forward nine months and we've got a rookie under center who nearly none of us foresaw last year.

I was that guy who truly thought Flynn was destined to be starter of the 2012 season. I thought PC's QB competition was just a motivator for Flynn to play at the top of his game. I was slightly impressed by Wilson in the first couple preseason games, but that third game against KC Chiefs sealed the deal for me and I've been a huge fan ever since.

My dad was skeptical of Wilson starting and kept debating with me early in the season amidst a potential QB controversy. He changed his mind after the Pats game, and has been a huge fan ever since.

I know some fans were Flynnsters in the early goings, but are now full-time DangeRuss supporters. I'm curious to hear when exactly the rookie won you over.

"I'm not the type to let a sleeping giant lie. I wake up the giant, slap him around, make him mad and beat him to the ground. I talk a big game because I carry a big stick." --- All-Pro Stanford Graduate

Was a huge Flynn supporter during offseason. Had the blinders on and focused on Flynn v. Detroit last year. Was very intrigued when we drafted Russell, but as a project. I accepted the decision to started Wilson after the Chiefs, and was impressed with Pete for showing his belief in competition included the QB.

As an NC State grad my answer is his third year at NC State. I was amazed at his improvement while playing baseball between seasons. I mean the guy should be getting worse at least for the first game but nope. He studied the game during grueling baseball seasons.

Now I will admit the first real NFL game was not what people hoped for but I thought it was expected. And when he threw the TD to McCoy in the Dallas game I knew he would pan out.

4th quarter of the Cards game. for a rook in his 1st start to get the the team down to have shots at the winning TD multiple times even though he didn't convert impressed me. considering the restraints that were put on his plays it really says alot that we were that close to winning. Hell every loss has been esentially that close. Comming off of last year with 0 4th quarter production I saw the light.

But really it was November 29, 1988 I had a Seahawks vision of a QBOTF

Edit: Just realized RW birthday is in 10 days W in the cards!

Last edited by Wiseguy on Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:12 pm, edited 3 times in total.

I went through a lot of frustration early in the year as a Flynn supporter knowing that Flynn probably would have won a couple of our early games like Arizona and/or St. Louis. I say probably because we knew what Flynn would likely bring to the table whereas our erstwhile young QB had yet to prove anything. No dig on Russell by any means; just common perception and not entirely without merit.

New England was significant because it was against a formidable opponent and the kid kept his cool. He's only gotten better since then and I can happily eat crow at this point.

Just kidding...after the KC and Denver games...The KC game was great, because that's a hostile environment, and he was electrifying. It's too bad KC is the worst team in the league, but he took advantage of his opportunities.

I watched him a lot at Wisconsin. Not because I thought he would play here, because he and Wisconsin were fun to watch.I've always liked him and thought he had a future. I really liked him after the Cowboys game.

Detroit game. He was able to march the team down the field late for the go-ahead TD. I thought that game was won until the defense had an owie. I remain a skeptic since I figure he has more growth that is needed but he has had the team in every game so I respect his game. The players appear to be buying in and that is the most important issue to me.

If he helps the team go 2-1 or 3-0 on the road, just line me up in the back of the wagon with the other late arrivals.

Draft day. I heard a bit about Wilson shortly before and during the first day of the draft. looked up his highlights from NC State and Wisconsin and was partially sold. Saw the QB thing with Gruden and was sold 100%. Honestly i had a slight feeling he'd be our starter but i thought Pete would be a fool and start Flynn over Wilson. Glad thats not the case.

Now as soon as i have the money i'm gonna buy a #3 jersey.

Side Note: we have too damn many cool players on our team. From Baldwin, to Sherman, to Lynch, to Turbin, to ET. I mean christ i want a Max Unger jersey!!!!

tubbs51 wrote:Draft day. I heard a bit about Wilson shortly before and during the first day of the draft. looked up his highlights from NC State and Wisconsin and was partially sold. Saw the QB thing with Gruden and was sold 100%. Honestly i had a slight feeling he'd be our starter but i thought Pete would be a fool and start Flynn over Wilson. Glad thats not the case.

Now as soon as i have the money i'm gonna buy a #3 jersey.

Side Note: we have too damn many cool players on our team. From Baldwin, to Sherman, to Lynch, to Turbin, to ET. I mean christ i want a Max Unger jersey!!!!

Unger??? Lol I hate hearing him talk, sounds like a computer technician.

I started paying attention back during his Wisconsin year. I had heard of him because Auburn was one of the schools he was rumored to be considering for his senior year, so I checked out his history at NC State and was impressed. I didn't pay much attention to college football last season, though I would see now and again that he was doing really well at Wisconsin. And then when Kip started talking about him, I thought he'd be a great option to take a flyer on. And so I started reading up on him as much as I could, and what I read plus seeing Gruden with him... well, I started seeing him as a real possibility for QBOTF rather than a project (of course, it helped that I wasn't keen on the Flynn signing, too).

I'm not sure, exactly. I was in the Flynn camp HARD after we signed him, and early in training camp too. Hearing reports of how he wasn't excelling didn't help me along any, but the first time Russ took the ball in the 2nd half (forgot who the first opp was) in the preseason, it was obvious to me. He was so playing at a different speed and level than anyone else...I wondered if it was just him being better than who he was playing against, but the KC game for sure......he was so dope that game.

I still doubted, heading into the AZ game, and even after that, thinking back on it. I wasn't sold on AZ's DEF, although talented, it's still AZ...

The GB game was awesome, and the NE game was too. I am totally in his camp 100% now, and I think his ceiling is ridiculously high. I expect him to lead us to at least 1 SB in his career, and as a fan, I can say if it's only one I'd be surprised.

mikeak wrote:As an NC State grad my answer is his third year at NC State. I was amazed at his improvement while playing baseball between seasons. I mean the guy should be getting worse at least for the first game but nope. He studied the game during grueling baseball seasons.

Now I will admit the first real NFL game was not what people hoped for but I thought it was expected. And when he threw the TD to McCoy in the Dallas game I knew he would pan out.

Not a NCS grad here, but related through marriage to the school. Been lukewarm to the school since they made Jimmy V a God before throwing him under the bus, long before most of you were born.

RW was drafted out of high school by the Orioles, but turned it down to play two sports at NCS. Then, as often happens to players, a coaching change was made. Some coaches don't like their starting quarterbacks to miss spring training ( maybe receivers too?) Had he gone straight to baseball I am guessing he would have learned to hit the curve. If he had stayed at State he would not have gotten this opportunity so quickly if at all.

I am probably the only one here that was hoping RW would catch fire with the Rockies and not look back, but that was before he transferred to Wisconsin and I got to see him play with a decent O-line.

Long before the draft I was at the Rose Bowl game and watched Wilson play. At that time I wanted him to be a Hawk. I was sure that after I heard pre draft interviews that he was a perfect fit for us. I was ecstatic when we got him.

I started following him maybe half way through his senior year at Wisconsin. I was pleasantly surprised when the Hawks picked him in the draft fully expecting him to be Flynn's backup. But from the very first pre-season game against Tennessee I was on the edge of my seat. Then the Denver game the hook was set! I was telling my wife this kid is the future of the franchise right then. He is getting better every week too.

SilkMonkey wrote:Draft Day - after the picks were done, I saw Gruden QB camp. Sold.I also was convinced with my own eyes first day at camp with the QBs warming up probably 20 feet away from me. Flynn looked...alright. Tavaris threw bullets and Russell looked special.

Pats game showed he had improved enough to claim the job. Am going to hate it when Flynn leaves for another club and lights it up, but I like Wilson and always have. Would still have rather won the Rams and Cards games than given Wilson time to learn the speed and complexity of the NFL, but now he's got to the point where none of that matters and the milk is spilt so it's time to get behind him. Pats game showed that.

Richard Sherman doesn't just wanna get in your head, he wants to build a vacation home there.

But I was not officially "sold" on him until the Pats game. He proved he can sling the ball and win with his arm, not just be a compliment to Lynch. I needed to see that to be convinced he can be the long-term guy.

Did not see your typical rookie. Wilson made the correct reads, called the right protections, looked off safeties, threw the ball with accuracy and converted Touchdowns, and when plays broke down he moved the chains with his legs, didn't take a hit.

Was impressed by him at Wisconsin. My heart skipped a beat when the pick was announced at the draft. I was excited with the signing of Flynn, but the moment Wilson was drafted, I knew he would emerge the starter. As a Seahawk fan from the beginning and an avid draftnik, QB picks for the Seahawks have far and few between. This was a pick that just felt right.

The last month I've liked what I've seen from Wilson .. he's really growing to be an efficient QB.

I think two things stand out above the rest though, for me anyway.

- How he handled the 49ers game. Wide receivers were dropping everything like we had a time warp back to 2003-2004. Wilson had one "WTF?" throw, the interception into triple coverage when Rice was running all by himself underneath - but aside from that.. he was doing everything you could ask of the kid, and he just wasn't getting help. But where most rookies would begin to press a little bit and start forcing the issue.. especially against that defense.. Wilson stayed cool the entire time. And yeah we lost and didn't score a single touchdown in the game, but his demeanor was just very impressive.

- How he handled the Jets game.I think outside of the start of the second half in Carolina, the first quarter and a half against the Jets was Wilson's worst in his short career so far. The Jets seemed to really be harassing him after a quick TD pass to open the game, and they would score their only TD of the game on a Wilson fumble.. but again, like the 49ers game, where you would expect a young kid to start panicking and having his mistakes snowball beneath him - Wilson stayed calm.. and eventually the game turned into a rout in a good way.

The kid just stays so calm when everything around him is going to hell in a hand basket. THAT is what I love about him. I know many on here are already christening him to be great.. I don't think he's there YET.. but he has that potential to be. And he definitely has this trait down pat, and it's a trait that can not be taught to players.. you either have it, or you don't.

ImTheScientist wrote:This guy is the closest thing to beast mode we will ever see. You got a glimpse of that yesterday. He was instantly my favorite player when they signed him. Give the dude a chance and don't overreact or overthink preseason. Go Hawks. Lacy will rush for 1,100 and 10TDs. Bend the knee.

Draft day. I've never seen a guy so pumped to be drafted by the Hawks. I was begging for him to be picked and said I'd take him in the second (everybody cracked up). I just didn't want to miss out on a talent like him, even if it meant "overpaying" and have him learn as our backup for a couple of years. Then we actually drafted him and to see how excited he was I think I felt like he felt in his mind that he could come in here and win the job. I like that kind of confidence.

I am traditionally not a big Wisconsin fan, but I ended up getting stuck a couple of their games last year and I was so impressed with Russell. He had a cannon for an arm and always knew what to do. Never flustered.

As for when I was 100% sure he had "it" at the NFL level, it was after he walked off the field after beating the Patriots and wasn't acting like a goofy kid or like he just won the Superbowl or something. He just walked over and shook Tom Brady's hand and approached him like an equal, not like a worshipper, and walked off the field like it was just another day and he was punching out and going home. He fully expects to win every game, no matter who they are playing and he showed it on that day against the one team I'd say is truly a dynasty as far as beating up on teams week in and week out.

SharkHawk wrote:I am traditionally not a big Wisconsin fan, but I ended up getting stuck a couple of their games last year and I was so impressed with Russell.

I think I am guilty of this too. Well the Wisconsin stigma anyway. I know he played most of his career at NC State, but I just see Wisconsin as a factory for offensive linemen, not quarterbacks.. mainly because the school has never really had a QB worth a crap at any level up until Wilson came around.

Though when you watched the Rose Bowl, you could definitely see Russell Wilson was NOT Brooks Bollinger or Scott Tolzien.

ImTheScientist wrote:This guy is the closest thing to beast mode we will ever see. You got a glimpse of that yesterday. He was instantly my favorite player when they signed him. Give the dude a chance and don't overreact or overthink preseason. Go Hawks. Lacy will rush for 1,100 and 10TDs. Bend the knee.

He had me at the Chiefs preseason game. Prior to that, I was very much in the camp that if you have a capable veteran and a rookie quarterback on your team, you start the veteran. I was very much afraid of repeating the Rick Mirer fiasco with a shell-shocked QB after only a couple of seasons.

During that game, Wilson showed the elusiveness and smarts to avoid the big hits as well as the ability to move the football. It looked like, at that point, he needed to get OJT, not sit on the bench. The weird part was, I never felt so much like Flynn lost the job as Wilson earned it.

SharkHawk wrote:I am traditionally not a big Wisconsin fan, but I ended up getting stuck a couple of their games last year and I was so impressed with Russell.

I think I am guilty of this too. Well the Wisconsin stigma anyway. I know he played most of his career at NC State, but I just see Wisconsin as a factory for offensive linemen, not quarterbacks.. mainly because the school has never really had a QB worth a crap at any level up until Wilson came around.

Though when you watched the Rose Bowl, you could definitely see Russell Wilson was NOT Brooks Bollinger or Scott Tolzien.

Hey come on now..... Bevell played QB there.

But seriously, that was the one year when they sort of came out of nowhere and went to the Rose Bowl. They had been pretty bad for a lot of years, then Alvarez came around and they started to get good, and with Bevell for the first time they had a QB and he was actually really good in college. I can remember the gripes because BYU didn't go after him, when he really wanted to come here and play, and instead all he does is goes and leads Wisconsin to a Rose Bowl in what was the toughest conference around at the time. It was pretty funny that the coaches wouldn't return his calls when he was openly begging for a scholly. Boy... they sure showed him.

Russell Wilson had a lot of fun moments playing with the backups, but we'd be stunned if this "competition" is still going next week. It looks like it's Flynn's job.

I never understood why people didn't take PC at face value on this one. Those putting "competition" in quote marks clearly never bothered to understand who Pete is and where he's coming from. He does not pay lip service, he does not set up bogus, needless situations – such as pretend competitions. I believed it was a legit position battle and that's why RW piqued my interest against Denver, then confirmed it against KC that he would likely be the starter this year.

I will start by saying I'm a die-hard Packer fan. The MNF game hurt deep inside. But I'm not here to talk about that.

Obviously I am a huge Russell Wilson fan and root for the Seahawks whenever they aren't playing the Packers. We(Badgers fans) knew he would be a good NFL starter and with a 6-4 record he is proving us right and most everyone else wrong.

Being a big fan I got sick of all the RGIII and Andrew Luck talk and decided to take matters into my own hands. Here is my new music video dedicated to the man himself. Hope you enjoy. Please share with all your Seahawks friends.

I like him...I like him A LOT...but 'sold' for me is a big word and I'm not sure if I'm there yet..and the reason being I'd still not 100% convinced he's better than Flynn...now 2-3 yrs from now maybe but as far as TODAY...is he better than Flynn? Maybe...probably...but I just can't say he's better without a shadow of a doubt....but team's certainly 'sold' and we're winning games, so I'm definitely on board....I'm maybe 90% 'sold'....